Technology for Storytelling

60 Years Ago: Operation Disneyland

Two of my favorite things are Disneyland and Television. In celebration of Disneyland’s 60th anniversary I decided to post the behind the scenes ABC video showing the technical preparations. Below is the actual show from opening day itself. You can see how far TV and Disneyland have come over the years. Thanks to Eyes Of A Generation and Chuck Pharis for the photos and videos.

The ABC television network filmed this documentary about the preparation for Disneyland’s opening day broadcast for an audience of ABC affiliates. It was shown to them over closed circuit (not broadcast) television. Now the public can see it as part of this DVD set. It’s fun to see how primitive television technology was in 1955, and how ABC and Disney, then separate companies, managed the ambitious live broadcast of July 17, 1955.